Date: Tue, 18 May 1999 13:07:52 +0100 From: "Jack Elder" <Jack.Elder@gtl.com> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg1726$foo@default> Subject: RE: Seed Germination
> Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 16:12:06 EDT
> From: JWi5770869@aol.com
> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
> Subject: Seed germination
> Message-ID: <841cf6da.2471d216@aol.com>
>
> Dear All,
> Does anybody have any idea on how to germinate Oz terrestrial Utrics
> (monanthos,uglinosa. Poly multifidia).
> Helpful pointers would be medium, light, temperature (constant or
> otherwise) and water levels, seed freshness.
>
> Any ideas on how to germinate Dros arcturi?
> Will I have to frost the seed before germination? Temperature
> after frosting
> etc.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> John 'Biodiverse' Wilden
> Southport, Lancs.
> UK.
Hmm. Not too sure about the utrics, but here's my experience from having
grown D. arcturi (which is found contemporaneous w' U. monanthos in the
wild, at least in NZ).
I haven't actually germinated seed, but I have grown adult plants. I have
also visited a major D. arcturi/U. monanthos site in the wild (Key Summit,
Fiordland, NZ), and I can give you one major tip: cold. Cold and windy. I
was there in summer, and it was still cold. In winter, the site would
usually be under a thin layer of snow. In summer, no snow but still very
nippy (top of a mountain in NZ's deep south), although the plants seemed to
get constant sunshine. The sun may have bought the ground temperature up a
bit - the plants were mainly growing in spagnum bogs near an alpine tarn
(crater lake).
Bruce Salmon of the NZCPS gave the following tips on D. arcturi a while
back:
D. arcturi:
Easy to grow from seed using standard stratification methods.
Compost - equal parts chopped spag / peat / sand. Keep it sopping wet all
year - may benefit from constantly seeping water ie. under a dripping tap.
Light - 14+ hrs in summer, <10 hrs in winter (covered by snow in winter). 5
month growing period.
Temps - (During growing period) Day: 15-20C Night: <5-10C
This would certainly dovetail nicely with my own experience (keep adult
plants outside in pots growing in live spagnum/sand, in a resonably
sheltered location with lots of wind/rain). My main problem with D. arcturi
was during summer, when it got too hot/dry for the plants and they died back
quite a bit.
Hope this helps.
On a related note: I'm planning to buy one of these new-fangled ICPS
mousepads. Problem is, the cost of an international money order is about
\2438, which is (give or take) roughly the cost of the actual mousepad
including postage. Anyone else in the UK interested in pooling resources
and buying a dozen or so? Email me if you are...
Have fun, and I'm looking forward to the Chelsea Flower Show;
Jack
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